The 4th Meeting of Heads of Reference Marine Organizations (HRMO) of the ECO Member States was held in Tehran on 16-19 February, 2008. The representatives of all ECO Member States, as well as International Maritime Organization (IMO), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and the ECO Secretary General along with relevant staff participated in the meeting.
Dr. Ali Taheri Mutlagh, Deputy Minister of Roads & Transportation of Iran, inaugurated the Meeting. He reiterated Iran’s pledge to provide port facilities to ECO landlocked countries.
ECO Secretary-General, Mr. Khurshid Anwar, in his inaugural statement dilated on the fast trend of economic growth in the ECO region and its positive impact on increasing demand for transport services. He underlined the need for all possible assistance and all available facilities to be extended to landlocked member states. This should include, he said, preferential treatment, reduced customs fees and formalities, improved rail, road, air and pipeline infrastructure as well as technical and financial assistance and to encourage greater involvement of the private sector.
The Representative of UNCTAD, Mr. Sham Bhatija, in his statement provided an overview of the globalization trend in transport and logistics services. He also touched on UNCTAD’s programmes and activities in the field of transport.
The Representative of IMO, Mr. Ivaylo Stoyanov Valev, speaking in the inaugural ceremony, emphasized the need for closer cooperation between ECO and IMO to provide maritime facilities for the landlocked countries. He announced their readiness to organize training courses under the framework of its Technical Cooperation Programme.
The Meeting took important decisions regarding maritime transport facilities for the ECO landlocked Member States, including port infrastructure, land, equipment, storage facilities, training, advisory services, and tariff discounts.
UNCTAD would provide technical assistance to develop a regional study on implementation of the United Nations Almaty Programme of Action to Address the Special Needs of the Landlocked and Developing Transit Countries in the ECO region.
The meeting expressed its satisfaction with the successful completion of most of the marine projects anticipated in the Programme of Action for ECO Decade of Transport and Communications (1998-2007). The meeting decided that a Task Force would be established to study the demand for sea transportation in the Caspian Sea.
The meeting welcomed the offer of Turkey to host a Workshop on Regional Cooperation for Maritime Training in 2008. This workshop would finalize a long term programme for Maritime Training in the ECO.
The meeting unanimously adopted the report of the 1st Preparatory Meeting of the ECO Logistics Providers Associations Federation (ECOLPAF) convened on the sidelines of the 4th HRMO Meeting.
The Islamic Republic of Iran offered to carry out a regional study on ways and means for implementation of the marine related Articles of the TTFA.
The meeting inaugurated the ECO marine website www.ecomarine.org, designed by the Ports and Shipping Under-secretariat of Turkey.
The delegates paid a field visit to Bandar Abbas, where they were familiarized with shipyards and various shipping and port services available for the landlocked and other member states in Shahid Rajaee Port.
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